Frost Bank Site Review

Frost Bank is a Texas bank and their website clearly conveys the Texas message. Founded in 1868, Frost Bank has been an integral part of Texas history. The bank was originally founded as a small mercantile store in San Antonio owned by a man named T.C. Frost. Today, Frost Bank boasts of over 100 locations across Texas.

Frost Bank survived the Great Depression, two world wars and the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s. In fact, Frost Bank was the only one of the top ten Texas banks to survive the 1980s upheaval. The bank is beloved by customers and once businesses and individuals begin doing business with the bank, they generally remain with the bank over the long haul.

Marketing Message

Frost Bank is a Texas institution that markets to Texans. Therefore, it is no surprise that their website reflects a Texas-specific message. For example, the background of the website changes daily to display a beautiful Texas scene. Customers submit photos to Frost Bank for them to use on the site. Because Texas has a great deal of beautiful scenery, Frost Bank is never at a loss for exquisite photos to display on the site. The day of this review, a breathtaking view of Trinity Park near Fort Worth provided the backdrop for the home page.

The Frost Bank website’s marketing message consists of much more than pretty pictures, however. Throughout the site, one of the most prevalent marketing messages conveys the integrity and longevity of the bank. Integrity is important to Texans when doing business. Those in charge of marketing for Frost Bank are clearly aware of this fact. Integrity is a message that is found time and again throughout the site. Other important themes that emerge from the marketing message are stability, honor and customer service. The bank’s humble beginnings are never forgotten and their Texas heritage is proudly on display throughout the site.

Design Elements

The design of the Frost Bank site is simple, yet elegant. The anticipated options are available on the top navigation bar. These elements include “Personal,” “Business,” “About Frost” and “Help & Support.” Across the bottom navigation bar, the financial products offered by the bank are listed. Hovering over each financial product produces a pop-up menu with links for more information. A login widget is provided in the upper right-hand corner for existing customers to access their accounts.

Across the top, over the top navigation bar, a “Search” box is located. The Search box is a nice feature that allows users to quickly search the site for specific information. Next to the Search box, a “Locations” link may be found. This link takes users to a page where they may quickly and easily find the nearest Frost Bank location, as well as locations of bank ATMs.

The right panel of the home page includes two boxes of information. The first box provides the credits for the background photo. The second box highlights current publications and news articles about the bank.

Based on the URL, we can ascertain that the site is hosted on a Microsoft SharePoint server. The site is very fast and responds instantly to mouse-overs and clicks. In the past, SharePoint has been known to have a slow response time. However, the response time for the Frost site reflects no delays or issues.

Overall, the Frost Bank site reflects an intuitive design that would be expected for a financial institution site. The design is clean and uncluttered. The site is fast and easy to navigate.

User Experience

The user experience of the site is generally a positive one. Many new users would likely be interested in opening a checking or savings account online. Clicking on the “Personal” link on the top navigation bar takes the user to menu that enables them to choose the type of personal account to explore. Users seeking to open a checking account online are taken to a page that allows them to build their own account. A demo is provided to demonstrate the process.

Opening an account on the Frost Bank website is extremely easy and straightforward. The user clicks through four pages. On the first page, they may view the demo or click the “Build Your Account” option to continue. The following page simply lists all add-on features, such as mailed statements and online bill pay. The user simply checks the checkbox next to each option. A base monthly price of $5.00 appears in the right navigation pane. For each add-on, an additional 2.00 is added to the base cost.

After selecting all add-on options, the user is taken to a page to confirm their selections. The user is required to complete a form to verify their identity. The user creates a PIN number on this form. The user may opt to order checks for a $19.00 fee. The following page allows the user to fund the account. The minimum amount required to open the checking account is $50.00.

The process of opening a new checking account is one of the easiest and quickest that this reviewer has ever seen offered by a bank on their website. The process may be completed in under 10 minutes. An FAQ link appears in the right panel throughout the process, and the user is provided with a link to send a secure email to a banker. A support phone number is also provided in the right panel.

When other products are explored on the site, the content provided is basic and clear. The user is directed to contact a banker for more information about any products or for answers to questions they may have. Overall, the Frost Bank site is one of the most well-designed sites for any financial institution. The site is easy to navigate, easy to understand, responsive and the information is very clear. The marketing message is clearly conveyed and the financial products are described in simple, easy to understand terms.

Users may also apply for business bank accounts online. Several customer forms are available for download from the site. The Frost Bank site is a model for design for financial institution sites.